Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Griftopia

Gov. Jindal may be last in the polls, but, due to the unconventional ways
in which his team has raised money for his campaign, using at least two
closely affiliated SuperPACs and another 501(c)(4), he is well within
the top 10, including both Republican and Democratic candidates, in
fundraising.

According
to his most recently filed campaign finance report, Jindal's struggling
presidential campaign has raised less than $600,000. But a pro-Jindal
SuperPAC, Believe Again, claims to have more than $3.7 million in the
bank, and a dark-money nonprofit affiliated with Jindal has at least $4
million more. All told, Jindal has actually raised more than $8.6
million, which, as veteran Democratic strategist Joe Trippi told The Advocate, "is more than enough to be competitive in the early states.
Jindal once campaigned to enact a "gold standard" of ethics reform in
Louisiana, but today his presidential campaign appears to be blurring
the lines in ways thought unimaginable before Citizens United. The
official Jindal campaign, for all intents and purposes, is practically
indistinguishable from the campaigns behind his SuperPAC, Believe Again,
and his tax-exempt 501(c)(4), America Next, and their shared staff,
resources and missions make it very difficult, if not impossible, to
believe the three organizations are not improperly coordinating with one
another.

And, whatever is working for Bobby, is certainly going to work also for T-Bobby.

Similarly, Bautsch's work for Scott Angelle's campaign and his political
action committee should raise significant concerns. According to a
source intimately familiar with both campaigns, who requested anonymity
for fear of reprisal, Bautsch essentially provided Angelle's campaign
with Gov. Jindal's entire campaign database and, at least initially,
utilized the Jindal campaign's $1,200 a month software system to track
donations and finances. Bautsch adamantly denies the accusations,
suggesting that the individual campaigns are responsible for those costs
and that Jindal and Angelle have never shared the same software.